Warrantless laptop border searches
p2pnet.net News:- US Homeland Security can conduct random border searches of laptops without search warrants or probable cause, and the searches can include seizing the laptop and subjecting it to extensive forensic analysis.
So says a CNET Police blotter item.
According to court documents, in January 2004, Stuart Romm went to Las Vegas for a training seminar and on February 1, continued his business trip by boarding a flight to Kelowna, British Columbia.
“Romm was denied entry by the Canadian authorities because of his criminal history,” says the post. “When he returned to the Seattle-Tacoma airport, he was interviewed by two agents of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division” who wanted to search his laptop.
Romm agreed and, “Agent Camille Sugrue would later testify that she used the “EnCase” software to do a forensic analysis of Romm’s hard drive,” says CNET, going on:
“That analysis and a subsequent one found some 42 child pornography images, which had been present in the cache used by Romm’s Web browser and then deleted. But because in most operating systems, only the directory entry is removed when a file is “deleted,” the forensic analysis was able to recover the actual files. During the trial, Romm’s attorney asked that the evidence from the border search be suppressed. The trial judge disagreed. Romm was eventually sentenced to two concurrent terms of 10 and 15 years for knowingly receiving and knowingly possessing child pornography.
“The 9th Circuit refused to overturn his conviction, ruling that American citizens effectively enjoy no right to privacy when stopped at the border.”
(Thanks, Julie)
Also See:
Police blotter – Laptop border searches OK’d, July 26, 2006
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July 28th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
The guv is simply applying the already unreasonable latitude they have at border crossings to include laptops. Nothing really new here. Cavity search anyone? No warrant or probable cause needed. Any privacy rights you may have left are completely surrendered when crossing US borders, including laptop contents.
P.S. If you encrypt the data on your laptop it just proves you are a criminal tarrarest. Honest law abiting patriotic sheep…er, I mean citizens have nothing to hide and no need for so called “privacy”….
July 28th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Hmmm…
The point that you missed was that DHS Agents ASKED him to search his laptop and he AGREED. You don’t need a warrent to ask for something, nor do you need a warrent to search when the suspect allows it.
The evidenced could not be surpressed because the suspect did not terminate the search and more than likely signed a form allowing the search.
This was a good thing as this person was view illegal porn.
July 28th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Hmmm…
The point that you missed was that DHS Agents ASKED him to search his laptop and he AGREED. You don’t need a warrent to ask for something, nor do you need a warrent to search when the suspect allows it.
The evidenced could not be surpressed because the suspect did not terminate the search and more than likely signed a form allowing the search.
This was a good thing as this person was view illegal porn.
July 28th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
http://www.truecrypt.org/
There you go!
July 29th, 2006 at 7:19 am
i would be filing a huge lawsuit. the day someone cant step outside and video tape cops doing stuff.
look at rodney king and every other Extreme Video tv show they have out there.
July 29th, 2006 at 9:02 am
this is disgusting.
i wish this country would make consistant sentences when it comes to child molestation and child porn.
less then 2 months ago, a man got probation for molesting an 8 year old girl for over 3 years. the To Catch a Predator series on dateline followed up on the pervs they caught and some of them got less then jail time for travelling.. sometimes hours to have sex with a minor. this is really.. really disturbing. not that this man shouldn’t have gotten the sentence he did but its the consistancy that is the biggest issue.
sounds like this guy should have done more molesting and less downloading and im sure he would have been able to walk out of there a free man
July 29th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
Was view?
WTF! How do I read that?
July 30th, 2006 at 3:01 am
was viewing… typo
August 1st, 2006 at 7:15 am
Although I disagree with the idiot Judges that claim they can search anyone at all for no reason I do think this guy was a blatant idiot himself. I mean deleted files? heheheheh